US2603412A - Fluid motor or compressor - Google Patents

Description

y 15, 1952 R. CHILTON 2,603,412

FLUID MOTOR OR COMPRESSOR Filed Jan. 25, 1947 a Sheets-Sheet 1 22 A 40 38 n4 4 26 7 w J 36 13 LL no 5 v 36 1 104 12 I02 '6 22 H I6 I5 I o l8 l0 A 10a 20 76 h I 'n u INVENTOR RCILAND, CHILTON;

I ATTORNEY July 15, 1952 I R. CHILTON FLUID MOTOR OR CO MPRESSOR 8 Sheets-Shet 2 Filed Jan. 25, 1947 INVENTOR RD LAND CHILTCIN ATTORNEY July 15, 1952 R. CHILTON 0 FLUI'D MOTOR OR COMPRESSOR 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 I Filed Jan. 23. 1947 INVENTOR .RCILAND CHILTON- ly 1 9 IR. CHILTON 2,603,412

, FLUID MOTOR 6R COMPRESSOR Filed Jan. 23, 1947 v 8 Shets-Sheet- 4 24 INVENTOR ROLAND CHILTON.

y 15, 1952 R. CHILTON 2,603,412

FLUID MOTOR 0R COMPRESSOR Filed Jan. 25, 1947 8' Sheets-Sheet 5 TOR ROLAND-CHILTON m ATTORNEY INVEN July 15, 1952 R. CHILTON I I 2,603,412

FLUID MOTOR OR COMPRESSOR Filed Jan. 2:5, 194? 8 Sheets-Shet 6 INVENTO R CILAND CHI L N.

ATTORNEY R. CHILTON FLUID MOTQR OR COMPRESSOR July-15, 1952 8 Sheets-Sheet '7 Filed Jan. 25. I194? INVENTOR -RDLAND C HILTDN ATTORNEY July 15, 1952. R. CHILTON 2,603,412

FLUID MOTOR OR COMPRESSOR Filed Jan. 23, 1947 8 Sheets-Sheet a ATTORNEY INVENTOR ROLAND CHILTON.

Patented July 15, 1952 Curtiss-Wright Del a Corporation, a corporation of Application January 23, 1947, Serial No. 123,738

The invention: relates .to rotary machines for compressing fluid within the machine to a desired pressure or-for converting the. pressure energy in a fluid into mechanical energy by expanding the fluid within vthema'chine- A prime object of the invention comprises the provision of a novel machine suitable for very high rotational and peripheral speeds in order to obtain a high capacity, in relation to the weight and .bulk of, the machine, as is a prime require! mentin connection with gas turbine powerplants for aircraft, for example, where'much larger 16 Claims. (01. 230-150) volumes of air must be compressed and. expanded 7 than in conventional reciprocating power plants of equivalent horsepower. Because of. its small size in relation to its capacity, it is proposedto use-a machine of the type ,hereindisclosed as,

for instance, a starter for large aircraft'power plants, such as gas turbines.

A further object of the invention comprises the provision of a novel machine wherein air or other fluid iscompressed or expanded withoutchange in speed of fiowandwith :only small and smooth changes in direction; This latter feature is quite important in, gas turbine power plants'since the overall efficiency of such power plants iscritically dependent on the efficiency of the compressor and expansion .units used. I j

, A still further object'of the invention comprises the provision of a novel positive displacement machine wherein air or other. fluid is compressed (or expanded) to the desired pressure before it discharges from the machine, which pressure, inthe case of compressors, is called the receiver pressure... In contrast, in positive displacement machines like the conventional Roots-type blower, there is'no compression within the machinev since the rotors of the blower cooperate with portswhichopen up an entrained volume of air '01 other fluid at atmospheric or inlet pressure to the high pressure receiver. The result is that the high pressure receiver air surges backinto the entrained volume of low pressure air ori other fluid until the receiverpressure is reached, whereupon the rotors of the Roots blower re-expelthesurge-back air. This cyclic surging causes the noisyoperation and low efliciency characteristic of Roots-type blowers at, highpressures. .This invention provides a novel machine wherein the air or other fluid is compressed or expanded to theoutlet pressure before communication with the outlet is established, and thecompressed fluid leaves the machine at constant pressure and uniform velocity. Such positive displacement machines have a relatively flat efliciency curve.-that is, they operate at or near substantially maximum efficiency over a relatively wide range of operating conditions as compared to kinetic type machinesin which operation depends on changes in the direction'and/or mag-- nitude of the fluid velocity.

In the prior art, compression within a machine has been achieved with sGrew-typecompressors by means of timed ports in'the housing uncovered by helical rotor lobes when the receiver'pressure hasbeen reached. This prior artstructure generally involves interrupted flow, wire drawing at the compressor opening and cut-off ports as well as a relatively tortuous'fluid' path through the compressor, all of which detract from the efiiciency, especially at the high speeds herein contemplated. Accordingly, a further object-of the invention comprises the provisionxof a novel machine providing constant gross: intake area and delivering the fluid through a constant gross delivery area uninterrupted as by valves or port-'- which would result if the high velocity rotors were permitted to rub when working 'on adry fluid. For this reason, in screw type compressors and Roots blowers, the rotors are connected by external gearing maintaining them in-the proper timed relation to preserve the necessary small working clearance betweenthe cooperating rotor elements" and such gearing may be used in the present-invention. The leakage loss through the. necessary clearances between the rotor vanes is proportional to the pressure drop between the adjacent pressure compartments. In many of the machines of the prior art, in which the fluid is compressed within the machine, the entire pressure rise through the machine exists between adjacent inlet and compression compartments separated by a single sealing zone. 1 A further object of the present invention is todistribute the pressure rise 'or drop over a relativelylarge number of compartments so that the"pressure difference acrossany one of the sealing zones which separate adjacent compartments is relatively small. 'In the! case where the entirepres sure difiference across the machine is present across a single seal zone (between adjacent inlet 3 and outlet pressure spaces), a leakage loss, for example, represents a 10% lossin volumetric efficiency and requires that the leakage air be re-compressed through the entire compression over, the reduced volume of leakage air will be re-compressed or expanded through a corr- V spondingly smaller pressure changefl According to the present invention, a machine having a plurality of such sealing Zones between its inlet and outlet ends is obtained by a novel arrangement comprising a main rotor having a plurality of spiral-like vanes projecting from a toric surface on said rotor and extending at least part way about the rotor axis. arrangement, the spacesbetween adjacent vanes have a spiral-like form and extend from the outer periphery of the rotor to its hub. These spiral-like vane spaces comprise fluid passages which are divided into segments sealed from the adjacent segments by partitions comprising teeth of radially disposed discs mounted for rotation about fixed axes transverse to the axis of said rotor. .The partition discs are circumferentially spaced about the main rotor axis and, since they are radially disposed relative to the rotor, the circumferential distance between adjacent par' tition discs decreases from the circumference of the main rotor to its hub. As illustrated in the drawings, the ratio to the center of a sealed segmental vane space at the periphery of the rotor to the corresponding radius at the hub of the rotor is about 4:1 so that the circumferential length of the segmental spaces between two ad jacent partition discs is one-fourth as long at the hub of the rotor than at its periphery, thereby providing-in the case of a compressor a 4:1 volumetric compression ratio or about a 6:1 compression pressure ratio with adiabatic With this compression. A prime object of the inventionis to provide a machine which will have high displacement capacity per revolution in, combination with high compression ratio (or expansion ratio in the case of a motor) I a The invention is not limited to use with the aforementioned partition discs because therotor, with the spiral-like passages, will produce kinetic compression of the fluid therein when drivenat high speeds or the machine may be operated as a radial flow turbine.

When the machine is provided with the aforementioned partition discs, the rotor toric surfaces must be generated by a circular arc, spaced from the rotor axis, as the arc is-rotated about the rotor axis. be mounted for rotation about axes tangent to the pitch circle of this toric surface. As herein used, the pitch circle of a toric surface, generated by a circular arc, is the circle followed by the center of this arc during said generation, In order to permit rotation of the main rotor and partition discs, at a predetermined fixed speed ratio (12:8 in .the structure illustrated), the spiral-like vanes must be of such form that as. a

point moves-along a vanefor example, along its apex or tip-the ratio of the angle .of rotation of the point about the rotor axis to its angle of rotation about said pitch circle is constant. Vanes of this specific form are herein termed helicospiral vanes. The term helico-spiral has been adopted because adjacent'the outer periphery of In addition, the partition discs must which:

'Figure l is an axial sectional View taken along line I-I of Figure 3 illustrating a preferred em- ,bodiment of the invention; 1

Figure 2 is an enlarged view partly in section and partly in elevation in which the upper and sectional part-is taken along line 2A2A of Figure 1 and the lower part in elevation is taken along line ZB-ZB of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an end view of the main rotor with the partition discs schematically superimposed thereon; I

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional view through apartition disc tooth;

Figure 5 is'a schematic View illustrating a step in the methodof assembling'th'e partition discs with the main rotor,

Figure 6 is a side elevational view partly in section of the main rotor with a modified rotor vane and partition tooth construction and with several partition discs schematically positioned thereon;

Figure 7 is a perspective view partly in section of a modified form of the invention;

Figure 8 is a schematic view of apparatus for machining the main rotor;

Figure 9 is a view taken along line 1'! Figure 8;

Figure 10 is an end view of the cutter used in Figures8 and9; 1'

Figure ,11 is a sectional view illustrating a step inthe fabrication of hollow rotor vanes; and

Figure 12 is a view similar to Figure 1 but of a modification employing no partition discs. v

For convenienceof discussion, a machine em bodying the invention will be described in terms of compressor operation but, as will be obvious, the machine may be used as a fluid motor in which fluid under pressure is supplied to the hub of the rotor and flows expansively and radially outwardly to the rim of the rotor.

Figures 1-5 illustrate a volumetric type compressor or pressure type expansion motor as distinct from the kinetic type since the partition discs prevent rotation of the fluid about the rotor axis. .However, as described in connection with Figure 12, a machine, without the partition discs, will produce kinetic compression at high speed or function as a radial flow turbine.

Referring now to the drawing, the modification illustrated in Figures 1-5 comprises a main rotor 10 arranged to be driven from either .end as, for example, from a member I I or I3 splined thereto. The rotor I0 is provided with a toric surface l2 generated by a circular are, spaced from the rotor axis, as the arc is rotated about this-axis. 'As illustrated, the generating circular arc sub-tends an angle of slightly less than about its center or toric" pitch circle (previously defined),"indi-v cated at It in Figure l. 'Integrally formed with the, rotor 10, as hereinafter described,'are a plurality of spaced spiral-likevanes l6 projecting from saidtoric surface, preferably at right angles thereto as illlustrated. The outer edges or apices of the vanes I6 define'a toric'surface having-the same 'pitch'circle as said rotor toric' surface l2. In Figures 1-5 the vanes [6 have the previously described helico-spiral form. Eight vanes l6-have been illlustrated and each vane sub-tends an angle of about 270 about-the axis of the rotor and anangle of slightly less than- 180- aboutthe pitch circle ;l4."-' However, the number of the varies and theirang'ular extent aboutthe'roto'r axis-"an d pitch circle may be varied without departure -irom -the-scopeof-the invention. The fluid to' be compressed is received between the vanes so that, for reasons of capacity, the maxi-' mum width of the vanes is madeconsiderably less than the width of the inter-vane spaces, in fact the vane Width is reduced to'the minimum value providing adequate vane strength.

' Therotor I0 is supported by bearings i8 and 20 carried by a multi-part main housing-structure 2 2. The housing structure 22is formed to provide an annular fluid inlet duct 24 communieating with the outer periphery 'of the spirallike "spaces between the vanes 16 and to provide an annularfluid outlet duct 26 communicating with-said spiral-like spaces at the hub of the rotor, Suitable annular guide vanes 28 are preferably provided at the annular inlet to help turn the fluid to be compressed in an inward direction into'the spaces between the vanes I 6. I

Rigidly secured to the main housing structure ZZ by screws 33 are housing segments 32 and 34 secur'edtogether by bolts 36 and an encircling clamping band 38. Preferably, the band 38 comprises two halves drawn togetherby' bolts 40;

In addition, for accurate location, each housing segment is provided with a machined pilot 39 arrang'ed'to be received within a groove in the main housing structure 22; The inner surface of the hdusing segments 32 and 34 extend across the outer edges of the vanes 16 in slight clearance relation'theretdto enclose theSpiral-like spaces between thevanes. Accordingly, the inner surfaces provided'by the housing segments 32 and- 34 isa-toric surface having the same pitch circle l4 as the toric surface I2. The segments 32 and 34 are'alternately disposed aboutthe rotor axis andth'eir' walls 33 and 35 are formed to provide slots 4| therebetween through which circumferentially spaces partition discs 42 extend;

Each partition disc 42 is radially disposed-'- that is, it lies in a plane including the axis of the rotor l0and each disc 42 is mounted for rotation about a fixed axis tangent to said pitch circle [4. In addition, the partition discs are provided with teeth or lobes 43 adapted to be received in the spaces between the vanes l6 for motion relative thereto. The meshing engagementof the vanes IS with thepartition disc teeth 43 is best illustrated in 'Figures'l and 6. To permit relative rotation of the rotor It] with the -meshing disc teeth 43, it-is essential that the radial cross-section of each inter-vane space must be constant throughout its length, as indicated in Figure 1. As previously mentioned, the vanes [8 have a helico-spiral configurationthat is, for anyincrement along a vane, the ratio of, its angular advance about the axis of the main rotor to its. angular advance about the toric .pitch circle is constant. However, becausethe, angle each vane l6 makes with a partition disc 42 progressively increases from the outer periphery of the rotor 10 to its minimum diameter portion, the thickness of each vane is made to progressively change in order that both its'width' and the cross-section of each intervane space are the same in any radial plane,

whereby the partition disc. teeth .43 and 1 vanes Hi may'mesh and rotate relative toeach other asgear teeth'of a Hindley worm and worm whee'l'hereinafter referred to. This change in inclination and. thickness of each vane '16 is bestillustrated in Figure 41 Figure 4 comprisesan enlarged sectional view through-'a partition disctooth .43 in mesh with a pair gofvanes 'l 6 adjacent the periphery'of the. rotor .10 and in dottedlines -there is superimposed a section of tionsdisc teeth 43 are ch-amfered on opposite sides of their central planes as illustrated at 44 and :45 in Figure 4, to avoid interference with the vanes as the partition discs and vanes rotate. The' aforedescribed arrangement orform of th'e'van'es- IB and partition discs 42 is an expansionpf theprinciple of the Hindly type" of envelopingi-worm and wheel, also known'as the 'throated or hour-glass worm. As used in worm g'ears', these' enveloping worms have been limited in length because of assembly difficulty; In: the Hindley worm, when the angle of embracement 0f the worm exceeds the slope of 'thesides :ofits teeth; an interferenceor under cutting effect prevents cutting thejworm teeth #by the usual methods and, in addition, the

wormand worm wheel can not be assembled by moving the wo'rin 'wheel teeth radially into the worm. In"addition, such enveloping worms in the nrior art have been symmetrical-tha't is, th'eysub-tend an equal and relatively short'angle of emb'racement. (of the order of 15) oneach side of--the -'minimum' diameter portion of the worm. In" the 'present invention, the enveloping angle of the vanes is asymmetrical and is much greater than said prior art structures; As illustrated, the'v'anes lfifhave a small angle of. embracement-"to the right (Figure 1) of the'minimum diameter point of the'main rotor llland, on the left side 'ofthis point, the vanes extend to the outer periphery of said rotor so that the'total,

angle of embracement of the vanes is only slightly lessfthan 180. With this largean'gle of embracement, it "is obviously impossible to assemble the rotor Ill and partition discs by merely movingthe disc teeth radially'into the rotor vanes. Theirmethodof assembly is hereinafter described.

qEnveloping worms and worm wheels have a special, though not widely recognized, property in that their teeth do not roll on each other and, therefore, need not be conjugate forms-such as, for example, an involute worm wheel tooth adapted for rolling against a straight sided racktooth. In fact, the tooth section of enveloping worms=may be arbitrarily chosen since there' is no rolling action between their'te'eth. It isconvenient to make the partition discteeth 43 and :the cooperating. inter-vane spaces parallel sided since, with this construction each vane l6 tapers outwardly to its apex or outer edge, thereby providing each vane with .a substantial thickness at its root portion, as is needed to. resist bending of the vanes under. the centrifugal forces acting thereon during rotor rotation. Also, this construction facilitates cutting ofthe vanes from a rotor blank as hereinafter. described. However, in order to increase the capacity of the machine, it maybe desirable to make. the root portions of the inter-vane spaces somewhat wider than their width ;at ;th e

apex. of; the vanes, for example as illustratediin;

wisesimi'lar to thatlof Figures 1-5 andlike parts havebeen indicated by. like but primed-refer;

encdnumeralsg It"- should; now be apparent "that; because of.

the cooperation of.: the vaneslj'fi and disoteeth 43, rot'ationrof the-main rotor :16 would'enforce rotationbf the j partition: discs.- 42, the rotor vanest'lfi'andlpartition'adisc teeth '43 cooperat ing. in a manner. similar; to'the teeth of, an en-" velopingnworm and worm wheel -combination.

-With the form-50f the vanes illustrated; each twelve revolutio'ns of: the rotor; l would 'enforce eightrevolutions of each partitionidisc .42., However; with the:machine.operating dry? as an air compressor, at the. high.v speeds of rotation- -cor'1templated'.-"by applicant, the rubbing friction'between the vanes 16 andipartition'disc teeth 43, when operating asigears; maybe excessive Accordingly, gearing connections between the; rotor l0; and discs .42 havebeenpro-l vided; "as hereinafter describedgto' insure their rotation at the .proper predetermined timed relation so that the vanes I6 and meshing discteeth 43 always have a. small .clearance around.

the-rteeth."43;1i This clearance has been greatly exaggerated in Figure 1. to admitof illustration. Obviously, this clearance should be kept as small as possible to reduce leakage loss in the machine. If. themachine fluid is clean,, 1. e. the fluid is free from grit or other foreign matter as; for example. steam, then said gearing between the main rotor'and the-partition discs probably jcoiuld ;v be, dispensed with, particularly in the sm'a lleri-sizetz machines; and/or -i-f lubrication;of tliervanes.isiresortedtto. 1

As best seen in Figure1. 2,:theapartition discs 42 .areiall jiournaled inthe housing segments ;32 withfthe': housing segments 34 filling in'the spaces: therebetweennzjEach; housing segment 32"is-;provided;withmeans for supporting thepair .of adjacent :partition discs 42 for rotation on axes tangent. to said -toricpitch circle I4. To 'this :endaibearings; 4.6 and 4] are .-carried by each rhousingisegmenti'32 withinwhich ashaft 48'is. journaledso that itsiaxis is tangent to the aforementionedtoric; pitch circle. The shaft; 48 is provided with an end fiange 5B and a nut 52 threaded on its other end ,serves to clamp hubxmembers 54, and 5B and bevel gears 58 and 60 therebetween so that theseparts arerotatable as a; rigid structure; Each partition disc 42 is formed in two halves for reasons of assembly and thehalves'are additionally secured together between the hub members 54 and 56 by screws "62. 'Eachlbevel gear;58 meshes; with; a bevel gear 64 formed integral with a shaft ';66 having 'a bearing 68 in' a housingsegment 32; and a bearing in the main housingstructureZZr Gears l2,rigidly secured to the:outer ends of theshaftsflfl, are disposed in meshing engage: nient with a gear -14'splined to the shaft-likeextension 'lfi of the'main rotor llliij i The other partition disc 42 carried by" each housing segment32 also comprises two .halves' which are rigidly connected to similar hubinembers -54 and 56 clamped to a shaft 18. Each shaft 1 8, like 'each shaft 48, is .journaled in bearings 80 and 82 in a housing segment 32 so that-its axis of rotationis fixed and is tangentto said toric pitch circle 44'. a Only one bevel gear 84 is secured to each shaft 18 and this gear meshes with the gear 60 on the adjacentshaft ,48 to provide a 1:1 drive ratio therebetween.

With this construction, the partition discs 42 are interconnected by bevel gears 60 and 84 so that the discsallrotate at the same speed and in the samedirectionwhen viewed in. a given In addi-v direction along, the pitch; circle l4. tion, thefgears-JZ and 14 and bevel gears 58 and, 64, provide the icorrect predetermined speed. ratio (12:8) betweenthe main rotor land the partition discs 42 to prevent; frictional contact between the'vanesjlfi andthe disc teeth 43 during rotation of: therotor ID and the discs 42.

vAssembly .of thepa-rtition discs 42 in meshing engagementwith the rotor vanes 16 may be eifected as'follows, The partition disc shafts 48 and 18, together'with their; bevel gears 58, 60 and 84;and the hub member 56, are first assembled in their, housing segments 32 and then these segments are disposed in position relative to the rotor I0. A suitable fixture may be used for holding the segments 32 in their proper positions. Then, before the alternate housing segments 34 are placed in position, half of a partition'disc 42 is secured to a hub member 56 by screws 62 Whilegthe 'half-discis out of contact with the rotor vanes 16 (as illustrated in Figure 5)-thatis, with the half-disc in the arc opposite to that sub-tended bythe rotor vanes 16 about the pitch-circle l4. Then, by manual rotation of the half-disc and the main rotor; I 0 in properly timed relation, the disc teeth 43 of this half may be engaged between the vane spaces. This rotation is continued until the half-disc 42 is' completely wound into mesh with the vanes l6 whereupon the complementary half-discmay be assembled free of the rotor vanes l6, both halves ofthe disc now being secured to both hub members 54 and 56 to complete the assembly ,of a disc 42- to a shaft 48 or 18. This operation is repeated until all the, discs 42 have been mounted in position.

Easy access tothe hub members 54 and 56 and the shafts 48 and 18 is made possible because the alternate housing segments 34 are not placed in position until after the partition discs 42 have been completely assembled in position on the housing segments 32. The housing segments :34 are then inserted radially relative to the rotor axis to fill up the spaces between the housing segments 32 except for the slots 4| therebetweenthrough which the partition discs 42 extend. ;;Efach segment 34 has a conical depression.90 in its sidewalls overqthe projecting ends of the, adjacent shafts 48 and 18. Thedesign of the'housing segments '34 is such-thattheirradial inner portions have .a circumferential width sufficiently small to clear the space between the projecting ends of the shafts 48 ignated ,ltappear to partition disc v the true width of the vanes, becauseth'e' vanes the outer periphery of'the rotor In to its minimum diameter portion. g

the rotor and partition discs continue to rotate, the segmental space 92 moves'inw'ardlybetween the radial partition Jdiscs 42a and 42b; Accordingly, the-segmental space 92:gets smaller and 7 smaller in circumferential length thereby-compressing'the fiuid' trapped. therein until the tooth 43 of the partitiondisc 42b; sealing the right end of this space, runs out from between the vanes 16a and IE1) thereby openingthe segmental space to the outlet duct 26. is continually being trapped and compressed in a vane space between each adjacent pair of partition discs and the-compressed fluid is continually being discharged into the annular outlet duct 26.- The ratio of the radius of the rotor at the-periphery of the vanes I 6 to its hub radius has been illustrated as approximately 4:1 whereby the circumferential length'of each segmental intervane space is only one-fourth as long at the hub of the rotor l0 as'at its periphery thereby providing a 4: 1 volumetric compression ratio within the machine,

With this construction, it'is not necessary to arrange fluid inlet and outlet ports in the fixed 'housingstructure in timed relationtotherot'or to provide for compression of the fluid within the machine. Thus, with the-present invention, the entire discharge end of theiannular inlet duct and thee'ntire annular entrance to the outlet duct I are continually opento the spaces between the vanes-1B. Therefore, the gross intake area and the gross delivery area of the machine are constant. 7 1 Y In Figure 3, the peripheral ends of the vanes be toovlide to pass "teeth 43. Actually; this is not approachthe outer-periphery-of the rotor -lll at'a small angle and the ends of the vanes-are chamiered to conformto the'o'uter periphery of the rotor, thereby providing the vanes with" a sharp leading edgein the'case or "compressor operation. v

As'stated, a prime object of the invention is to provide a machine with a high compression ratio and ahigh capacity per revolution of the main rotor. Inthe machinedescribed; compression starts only after a segmental vane space such as 92 has been closed -to the inlet duct by the peripheral'or oute'r'end' of a vane l6 being received between the teeth of an adjacent partition disc '42- and the compression only continues until said 'segmentalspace is openedto the outlet duct by the inner or-hub endlof a vane leaving a partition disc. Accordingly,the compression ratio is approximately equal to the ratio "of the radius from the rotor axisto'. the

center ofvolume of a segmental vane space at the instant'of its closure to the. inlet duct to the radius of the-center 'of volume of a segmental vane space at the instant of its opening to the outlet duct. Therefore, it should'be apparent that for a given sizerotdrthe' com- Ito and. H317, thereby trapping the fluid in a segmentalintenvane space 92. As

between the.

pression-ratio increases with increase in. the 7 number of closed segmental vane spaces disposed between adjacent partition discs and I with decrease in the maximum circumferential length of said spaces between adjacent partition discs, so that the compression ratio will increase with increase in the numberof partition discs, with increase in the number of vanes and/or with increase in the angle subtended by each vane about the rotor axis between the periphery and minimum diameter portions of the ."I'OtOI'r .1 w

Themachine illustrated in Figures 1-5 has eight vanes lB-and eight partitionidiscs 42 providing a volumetric compression ratio within the machine of approximately 4:1. Incidently, with eight'vanes It at least five teeth of each partition disc 42 are completely inmesh between vanesv 16 (thereby providing at. least five closed; inter vane spaces92 between each'pair of partition .ldiscs I32) and this fact, together with the large angle of embracement of the vanes with each partition disc, makes it impossible to assemble them by moving the partition disc teeth radially into the- .rotor lvanes. As previously described, this assembly difficulty has been overcome by ..making each partition discin two halves :and

separately winding each half into mesh with; the vanes -16. In a machine similar to that of Figures 1 5, if the number of vanes is reduced from eight to seven and the number of partition discs is reduced from eight to six, the compres- ..sion ratio would be reduced to approximately -3 :1. "This loss in compression ratio is greatly accelerated as the number of vanes and parti- 'ticn discs-are further reduced. In fact, with 2. very. small number of vanes and/or partition .discs it is necessary to greatly increase the angle subtended ,by ea'oh vane in order to obtain any compression ratio within the machine. Also, in a machine similar to that illustrated in Figures ;l'-5,- increasing the number of vanes and/or partition discs: beyond eight and eight respectively results in only a'small increase in the compression ratio which, with infinitely thin partition discs,

approaches a theoretical maximum value equal to the ratio of the peripheral radius-of the rotor ,to its minimum hubv radius.v Also, it should be noted that, althou h ,aplurality of vanes and partition discs are necessary for a highcompressionratio, the capacityof the machine is decreased by the volume of the vanes and the volume of the partition disc ;teeth in mesh with i the .vanes. Accordingly, it is desirable to make the partition discs as thin. as practical and to make the vanes as narrow in width, relative to the width of the inter-vane spaces, as vane strength considerations permit. addition, wide vanes and thick partition discs both-result in a space of relatively large volume between adjacent partition disc teeth, thereby increasing pumping-back losses, that is, increasing the quantity of compressed fluid carried ,baclctofthe compressor inlet through these spaces as-hereinafter described. At this point it may be noted that the machine compression ratio may be.in-,

creased at the expense of machine capacity by increasing the thickness of the partition discs since this results in a proportionatelygreater percentage decrease in the volume of theseg- ,mental vane spaces adjacent thehub of the rotor as compared to the percentage decrease in volume .of these spaces adjacent the periphery of the rotor. V a v Eachvane I5 subtends an angle of app roximately 27.0.? about: the rotor axes between the I these discs rotate about fixed axes.

an contains vvery few bends.

perip ery of therotor and its minimum diameter portion; As mentioned, by increasing this angle it is possible to increase the compression ratio. However, each particle of fiuidpas'ses through the machine during rotation of the rotor through an angle approximately equal to the 'angle'sub- *te'ndedby each vane about the rotor'axes Ac- 'c'ordingly,it is desirable to make this angle as small as is consistent With the compression ratio desired within the machine'in order ,to-make the capacity of the machine as large as possible.

Because of the helico-spiral form of the vanes I6, the rate atwh-ich' the intersection of a vane with a'fixed'radial plane moves about the toric pitch circle I4 is proportional to the speed of rotation of the rotor I0. For'this reasoniand because the partition discs 42are positioned in fl'xed radial planesythe speed of flow of the fluid being compressed remains'unchanged as it passes through and is'cofnpressed within the vane spaces when the rotor ID has a uniform speed. 1 Accordingly, it is inherent in the machine that,

regardless of the speed of rotation of its rotor 10, the fluid enters the spaces between the vanes at a direction relative thereto tangent to the peripheral edge of the vanes. That is, the fluid enters between the vanes at a zero angle of at- V tack to the vanes so that no' work is done on the fluid until it is enclosed in a segmental-vane space by the partition disc teeth; Similarly, at

'the outlet end of the-machine, it is inherent that the compressed fluid leaves the vanes at a direction relative thereto which is tangent to the discharge end of the vanes. This feature "is quite important because it permits the machine to operate with relatively high entrance 'anddischarge fluid velocities as compared to conventional vaned compressors in which the air enters the vanes with a finite angle of attack or at best the angle of attack is substan- 'tiallyzero at only one speed of the rotor.

Another advantage inherent in the machine of thepresent invention arisesfrom the radial axis of'the main rotor. Thus, a segm'ent of fluid flowing into a space between a pair of adjacent vanes I6, in the' plane of Figure 1, re-

' mains in this plane as it is compressed through the rotor ID to the outlet duct 26 so that the fluid flow path of each particle is quite smooth Lubricating oil for the bearings and gears, providing a driving means for the partition discs 42, is supplied through a passage 94 communicatingfwith an annular duct 96. Each housing segment 32 is provided with a passage 98 commu'nicatingwith the annular duct 96 for sup- ,7 plying lubricating oil to a chamber H10 from which it is supplied to the various bearing surfaces and gears. Suitable drain passages (not shown) provide 'for return flow of the lubricating oil through the housing structure. Seals, such as indicated at I02, prevent leakage of. the lubricating oil to the partition discs 42.

The pressure of the working fluid within the machine between the vanes 16 results in an axial thrust' on the rotor I to the left (Figure 1). T0 at least partially balance this thrust, fluid "under pressure is supplied through anopening or openings I02 in the rotor to a sealed annular chamber I 04 between the rot'or'andthe fixed housing structure 22. -With"this'arrangement,

5 the working fluid'of the machine supplies the fluid pressure for at leastpartially balancing the axial thrust on the rotor Ill.

Two rotors secured together back to back, as is' conventional in' centrifugal compressors, may be used. in a single machine thereby eliminating the necessity 'for providing means to absorb or balance any axial thrust.

In addition, two rotors thus secured back to back-provide a symmetrical arrangement which eliminates any tendency of the body of the rotor to bend'under the action oi centrifugal force.v

. The vanes I6 may be isolid'but, for'strength,

they are preferably made hollow, as indicated at :I |6,Twith'the ends of each'vane suitably closed. I By shaking the vanes hollow, the: mass of each vanefis materially reduced thereby reducing the centrifugal "forces acting on'the vanes during their rotation. This feature is quite important in machines designed to operate at high speeds.

' In 'addition, when themachine'is intended to operate'as a fluid motor'or turbine, the machine is supplied with high pressure and high temperature fluid through the duct 26 to the-hub portion, of the rotor I 0 and this fluid expands through the machine between its vanes I6. Ac-

cordingly, it may be desirable or necessary, par- :"ticul'arly'when the machine is so used, to providemeans for cooling the vanes I 6. To this end,- a suitable fluid-for example, relativelycool air-inay be supplied under pressure to the interior of the shaft-like extension 16 of the rotor I0. This fluid flows, into the hollow interiors I06, of each vane-lfi'through'a plurality of holes #108 adjacent its'hub end, the size of said holes conformingto' the relatively thin width of the vanes at their hub ends- The periphery of the rotor I0 is provided with holes H0 communicatingwith the interior of the adjacent ends of the vanes I6 andthrough which the cooling fluid discharges; as a fluid motor or turbine, the vane cooling fluid discharging from the holes IIU may be fed With themachine operating into the then outlet duct 24. Y

r With the structure so far described, in the case of compressor operation, the spaces between adjacentiteeth 43 of a partition disc 42 will carry 4 fluidfromthe high pressure to the low pressure end' of the machine. For example, in Figure 1,

' with the machine operating as a compressor, the

sp'a'cesbetween the adjacent partition disc teeth 43 will .carry a small percentage of the compressed fluid from the outlet duct 26 backto the inlet-duct 24; the partition disc 42 illustrated in ..Figure 1 rotating clockwise in the case of compressor operation. This small back flow of compressd fluid may be tapped for some auxiliary use. ::Thus, the walls 35 of the housin segments 34 may-each be provided with a passage II3 communic'ating at one endwith the'adjacent partition' discslot 4| and at its other end with an I annular manifold II4. Where, for example-,the machine is used as an air compressor-in a gas J turbine power plant, the compressed air collected by the manifold II4 may be supplied through a conduit I I5 to passages in or between the turbine blades for cooling these blades; should be noted that the clearance between the At this point, it

' partition discs 42 and the adjacent walls 33 and "35 of the slots M is quite small but, for clarity, u'has been greatly exaggerated in Figure 2. Also, the walls 33 and 35 of the slots 4| extend from I the inlet duct 24 to'the outlet duct 26 so that the gent to the toric p vided with a cutting tool I3 having a cutting leakage path throughthes'e slots isalong'path'of small cross section. 5 Also, inw'ardly'of the partition' disc teeth 43, suitable labyrinth packings H 2 are carried by the walls 33' and 35 tominimize leakage radially inwardly of the partition discs 42.

As described, the main rotor I0 is provided with eight vanes I6 meshing'with teeth 43 of eight partition discs 42. Howevenit is preferable to provide an unequal number of vanes I6 andpartition discs 42 in order that the se'gmental spaces between pairs of adjacent partition discs do not all opento the outlet duct2'6 at'the same time and that they do notclosetothe-inlet duct 24 at the same time. Figure 7 is a perspective view of a rotor I lfi having seven vanes I I'I. Although, for clarity, only one partition disc I I8 has been illustrated in Figure 7', preferably siii creight such discs are provided, an even number of partition discs facilitating their assembly'with the vanes as previously described With seven vanes and six or eight partition discs, the number of vanes and number of partition discs do not have a common fa'c"torthat is; these numbers are non-factorizing'j -With thi construction, the seg..

1 metal vane-spaces between pairs of adjacent partition I discs are out or phase with the segmental vane spaces between every other pair of adjacent partition discs. notedfabove and "except for the direction of rotation ofthe' main rotor, the modification"ofFigure"? is otherwise similar tojth at of Figures 1 to 5 and/qrFigurefi.

; [At thisl oilntit-should b ht'ted that the modicationsill tr tedlnjrigures' 1 1 91 .16 andfl'all disclose the samebas icmain rotor with its vanes a r i qn iscs. waste 1 e dfE 7 have-been taken at different angles from any of Figures 1 to 5 in order to more fully disclose-the a i form of the ro mz an s d t e m n o theincooperation'with the partition -discs. w 7

-The helico-spiral spaces'formedby adjacent vanes may be. machined from a solid rotor blank I20 after the blank hasibeen machined to provide the toric surface corresponding to the. outer edges of the vanes I6. The rotor blank l20 is h pported inris' fi r nss m shows) l by ecu in t to a f at .2. .tf e1 h p arat phemat a ly i di ated Fi re 1 9- A te 22 :a .9. PsQrte v i bearings I24, is nted Qt1l2tit$filil$ tani lk at 1%..50 th t t e e n axisanl 'aid'f't u i s e axe of the partition discs 42: The' ma in rotor: blank I20 and cutter bar I22 aresuitably' geared 'together I This gearing may besirnilar to the gearing between j the m ainl-rotor and partition discs as'illustrated in Figure Zalthough, as'schematically; illustrated in Figures 8 and '9, mo'rerugged gearing, such as the meshing. hypoid bevel gears I26 and I2I,j'is preferable in order. to reduce manufacturing tolerances 'to a. minimum, the gears I26 and I2I respectively beingdrivably connected to the. rotor blank I20 andlcutter bar The head I'28"of thecutting bar I22 isproen m Conventional means have been illustrated to progressively feed the cutting tool I 30 into, the

rotor blank I20 as thecuttingheadlZBandrotor blank rotate. ..To ,this. end,,, ,the.r cuttingvtool struction,:thercutting-tool I30 must be; retracted into'itsthead- I28 to the position illustrated before the rotor blank I and cutter can beassembled to the proper position to-begin' acut; I Byapplying power; e. g. to ;the;fa ce*plate I23, therotor blanklZIl and cutter bar I22 are rotated the predeterminedrelativespeed ratio of 12:8-(as fixed byithe hypoid bevel gearing I 26,1 21 identical with ..the,vintended speed ratio of the rotor I0 and par- 10" tition discs .42) and at the same time,"the cutting tool"I30-:is progressively fed into the rotor blank ..by::- axially movingthe rod I36. Assuming. that "thewanfejs-IB are to be solid,-thecutting end I32 of thetool I30 is made'to simulate -a tooth 43 of a partition disc so that anv entirevane spaceis cut as the tool I30 is-fed into the rotor blank I20-that is, the cutting of a spiral vane'space proceeds as the cutting tool is fed into the rotor blank to:3the desired depth of' cut. InzFigure 8, 20

the-dotted lines I38- and 140 respectively-indicate theperiphery and hub portions of a finished vane space in the plane of this sectionalview.

- Where theinter-vane spacesare parallel-sided, as illustrated in Figure l, the tool I cuts only on -its circumference or outer end I32, this end I having ,a curvaturesimilar tothe outer edge of the teeth 43 on the partitiondiscs. In addition,

vane. space adjacent the'hub-of the rotor. -Also, in FigurelO, the dashed line -I45 indicates-the plane of "the cutting edge of "the tool and therefore'along this line the tool cutting edge has a profile similar to the profile of the outer edge of partitiondisc tooth 43in its central plane.

One rotorvane space has now been cutand the cutting tool must be withdrawn before the rotor blank can be rotated the correct amount relative to: the cutting bar to place these parts in position for cutting a second vanespace; This relative rotation may be effected and its magnitude controlled by conventional dividing head means dis- I posed','for example, in the operative connection,

schematically indicated at I46, between the rotor blank I20 and the hypoid gear I26. -It-is'important to notice that the'entire gear cutting operation is possible only withthe shafts at their designed center distance in contradistinction to cutting'ordinary involute gears wherein a hob, for example, may be fed intothe designed center distance;

When the vanes are to be madelhollow, the hollow space'within the vane, as well as the space between adjacent vanes, may be machined from a' rotor blank by means of apparatus similar to that illustrated in Figures #8 and 9' except for the cutting end of the tool. 'I'hus', a rotor blank may be machined to the condition illustrated in Figure ll -in, which the side walls I and I52 of each of the vanes, anentire .inter-vanespace can not [be formed by feeding a single toolintoeachof these spaces in a manner similar-totheaforetion chamber or chambers.

described machining operation in: the. case of a rotor having'solid vanes: --"I'his'is also tru'eeof a rotor with sand vanes if 'the intereviane'spaces are wider at'their root portions. -However, ap-

proximately one half of such an inter-vane space jmay be formed by one cuttingoperation 'to' form awall of one vane withthe remainde'rof the inter-vane space formed by a separatei cutting operation. In Figure 11, the space betwee'nithe finlike (side walls'ofa' vane is parallel-sided and 5 therefore may be of similar form to the-inter-vane spaces in Figures 8-9. Alternativly,'in Figure' ll, theicutting 'tool may-b'e' formed, as indicated by the dotted lines I56, so that as itis fedinto the rotor blank, it cuts approximately half an inter- -vane spaces space between adjacent 'fln-like sidewalls of a vane and approximately half of 'thenext inter-vanespace.

' After the rotor blank has been machined to the condition illustratedin Figure 11, the side walls I50 and I52 of each van'e are bent or rolled together, as illustrated by the dotted'lines, to at least approximate the desired; vane profile. Then,

the side walls of each vane are secured -together for example, by welding along 'th'e apex ortip of the 'van'e'and the ends of "each vane are 7 closed-for example, by welding a plate thereover.

Thereafter, if necessary, the vanes may be more accurately finished to the desired profile'.

Asalready mentioned, a rotor, provided with spiral vanes similar to the vanes [6 of Figure 1, may be used without the partition discs 42 either as a compressor or as a radial flow turbine; Figure12 comprises an axial section through such 1 a machine; Accordingly, in Figure 12 the shroud or housing I60, enclosing theouter portion of the inter-vane spaces, provides a continuous Wall surface over the outer edges of the v'a'nes 152 unated by a circular arc. If the rotor l 64 is rotated at a sufiiciently high speed, the spiral-like passages between the vanes will produce kinetic compression of the fluid supplied thereto through the inlet'du ct I56. Conversely, if gas under'pressure -*is supplied to the duct I68, the machinefwill operate as aradial flow turbine.

In'Figure 12, the duct'lfifi does notfiair outwardly as does the duct 26 in Figure'l. However, this distinction depends primarily on the useto which the machine is to be put. Thus, themachine in Figure 1 was designed for use as a compressor in a gas turbine power plant, the duct supplying compressed air to the turbine combus- Incidentally, the gas turbine of this power plant may comprise a machine similar to that illustrated in Figure l or Figure 12.

At this point, it should be obvious that, in the case of compressor operation, the ends of the rotor vanes, adjacent the outer periphery of the rotor, point into the direction of rotation of said rotor, whereas when the machine is operating as a fluid motor, the direction of rotation of the rotor relative to its vanes reverses.

While I have described my invention in detail through which said discs extend.

"standing my invention that various changesand modifications may be a made therein without departing from -the', spiritjor scope thereof. I aim in the appended claims to cover .all; such modifications. 1

I claim as my invention: 7 I V 1. Adevice of the class described comprisin a rotor havinga toric surface with spacedhelicospiral vanes projecting therefrom, a plurality of spaced discs rotatable on; axes tangent to the pitch circle of said toric surface,-said discs having teeth forming partitions in the spaces between said vanes, andhousing means extending across the tips of said vanes toenclose the spaces between saidvanes, said, housingmeans comprising a;plurality of housing segments disposed in endto-end relation to form a complete annulus, said discs being supported in pairs by alternate housing segments at Opposite ends thereof, the facing ends of said housing segments providing slots 2. A device of the class described comprising first means having a toric surface with a plurality of spaced helico-spiral vanesprojecting therefrom, a plurality of'spaced discs rotatable on axes tangent to the pitch circle ,of said toric surface, said discshaving teeth forming partitions in the spaces between said vanes-second.

means extending across the tips of said vanes to enclose-the spaces between said vanes and having slots through which said discs extend, a fluid inlet continuously communicating withthe inlet end of each of the inter-vane spaces, and a fluid outletcontinuouslycommunicating with the outlet end of each of the inter-vane spaces, one of said first and second means being rotatable relative to the other.

3. A device of the class described, said device comprising a rotor having a toric surface, housing means spaced from said-surface and com- I prising therewith an open-ended annular fluid passage, vanes on said rotor dividingsaid pas- .sage into open-ended helico-spiral spaces, ro-

tatable discs extending through slots in said housing ,means and having teeth dividing said spaces into segmental compartments spaced from theends of said spaces, said discs being arranged radially relative to the axis. of'said rotor wherea by said. compartments; decrease in circumferential lengthfrom the periphery to the, hub of saidrotor, afluid inletcontinuously communicating with the inlet end of-e achliif the inter-vane spaces, and a fluid outlet continuously'comj municating with the outlet end .of each of the inter-vane spaces. a

4. Adevice' of the classdescribed, said device comprising a rotor having a toric surface, .a plurality of circumferentially spaced vanes carried. by said rotor andprojecting from said surface, each of said vanes having a spiral-like configuration extending" at' least part way about 7 the axis. of said-rotor, housing means extending across the tips of said-vanes such that ,each pair of adjacent vanes and the fa'cingsurfaces of .saidrotor and housing means definesanopenended spiral-like space, partition means extending across each of said spiral-like-spacesand movable therealong, a. fiuid-in1et continuously communicating with the inlet end of each of said spiral like spaces, and afiuid outlet continuously communicating with the outlet end of 1 each of said spiral-like spaces.

obvious to those skilled in the art, after under- 5. A device. of the class described, said device comprising a rotor having a toric surface, a plurality .of spaced vanes carried by said rotor and projecting from said surface, each ofsaid defines an open-ended spiral-like space, a 'plu-' ralityof spaced disc-like members each rotatable about an axis spaced from and transverse to the axis of rotation of said rotor, said disc-like members extending through slots in said housing means and having teeth-arranged to be received between adjacent vanes as said rotor and members rotate such that said teeth form partitions across said spiral-like spaces, a fluid inlet continuously communicating with the inlet end of each of said spiral-like spaces, and a fluid outlet continuously communicating with the outlet end of each of said spiral-like spaces. '.6."A device'of the class described, said device comprising a rotor having a toric surfac'a'a plurality of spaced vanes carried by said rotor and projecting from said surface, each of'said vanes having a spiral-like configuration, housing means extending across the tips of said vanes such that each pair of adjacent 'vanes and the facing surfaces of said rotor and housing means defines an open-ended spiral-like space, a plurality of spaced disc-like members each rotatable about an axis spaced from, and transverse to the axis of rotation of said rotor, said disc-like members extending through slots in said housing means and having teeth arranged to'be received between adjacent vanes as said rotor and members rotate such that said teeth form partitions across said spiral-likespaces, a fluid inlet continuously communicating with the end'of said spaces adjacent the periphery of said rotor, a fluid outlet, continuously communicating with the end of said spaces adjacent the hub -of said rotor, and a plurality of'fluid passages each having one end adapted to be successively placed into communication with the spaces between the teeth of one of said disc.- like members as said teeth rotate. from said .outlet to'said inlet. f

7. A device of the class described comprisingia rotor having a toric surface concentric with its axis and generated by a circular arc, a plurality of spaced vanes carried by said rotor and projecting from said surface, each of said vanes having a spiral-like configuration extending at least part way about said axis, housingjmeans extending across the tips ofsaid vanes such that each pair of adjacentvanes and the facing surfaces of said rotor and housing means defines an open-ended spiral -lik'e space, a plurality of spaced disc-like members eachrotatable" about an axis tangent to the pitch circle, of said toric surface, said disc-like members extending through slots in said housing means and having teeth arranged to be received between adjacent vanes as said rotor and members rotate such that said teeth form partitions across said spiralfromsaid rotor surface, housing means extending a'cross the tips of said vanes such that each paino'f adjacent vanes and the facing surfaces of said-"rotor and housing means defines an open-ended spiral-like space, a plurality of spaced "disc-like members each rotatable about 'an axis' tangent to the pitch circle of said toric surface, said disc-like members extending through. slots in said housing means and having teeth arranged to be received between adjacent vanes 'assaid rotor and members rotate such that's'aid teeth form partitions across said spirallike' spaces, and'a fluid ,inlet continuouslycom-V municating with the inlet end of each ofsaid spiral-like spaces, and a fluid outlet continuously communicating with the outlet end of each of said spiral-like spaces.

9. A device of the class described comprising a rotor having a toric'surface concentridwith the rotor axis and generatedby a circular arc,

a plurality of helico-spiral vanes projecting from said rotor surfaces, housing means extending across'the tips of said vanes such that each pair ofadjacent' vanes and the facing surfaces like spaces, and a fluid inlet continuously com municating with the inlet end of each of said spiral-like spaces, and a fluid outlet continuously communicating with the outlet end of each of f said spiral-like spaces, the surface of said housing means facing said toric surface being a toric surface generated by a circular arc concentric with said first-mentioned generating circular arc.

10, A device of the class described comprising a rotor; a housing, said housing" and rotor having complementary toric surfaces defining therebetween an annular open-ended space which is co-axial with the axis of rotation of said rotor; a plurality ofspaced vanes carried by said rotor and projecting from said rotor toric surface to said housing toric surface, each of saidvanes having a spiral-like configurationextending at least part-way about said axis and extending from one end of said annular space to its other end to divide said annular space into a plurality of openended passages; and a fiuid inlet continuously communicating with the ends of said passages at one endof said annular space; and a ,fluid outlet continuously communicating with all the ends of said passages at the other end of said annular space.

11. A device of the class described comprising a rotor; a housing, said rotor and housing having complementary toric surfaces defining therebetween an annular open-ended space which is cos-axial with the axis of rotation of said rotor and has one end disposed at a greater distance from said axis than the other end of said space; a plurality of spaced vanes carried by said rotor,

"each of said vanes extending across said annular space from one end of said space to its other end; and members relative to which said rotor rotates partitioning each inter-vane space into a plurality of closedecompartments which, during rotor rotation, move from one end of said annular space to its other end with the V 19 volume of ,each compartment varying j-with,;its distance from the rotor- ;aX is,;';said;-, housing having. 'ag-fiuid inlet :opening continuously communi- :catingmleith :all ,of the: ginter-yane spacesg at; one end off "said annular space and --having a ,fluid outlet opening continuously communicating with 7 fall 10f, the inter-vane spaces *at 'the other'iend of and projecting from said rotor toric-z'surface t0 said jhousing toric surface and extending irom one end of ;said annular space to .-its;other .end, each of said vaneshaying .a spiral-like configuration relativeto andfiextending at least partway around said rotor axis; 'and;aplurality of discr-li-ke members having teeth meshingwith said vanes to form partitions across ;the inter- 'yane spaces said; housing: having a fluid inlet opening-continuously communicating With-all, of the inter-yane spaces atone end of said annular space andhaving a fluid outlet opening continuouslyfcommunicating with all of the inter- V tspacesa h th end of said annular space.

i, I i t '13. A device [as recited in, c1aim-12 in which eachof said vanes,- subtends an angle of less than 360 about-the rotor-axis. and the number of saidvanes and thenumber of said disc-like ,axiallwith the axis. ofjrotation of-said rotor and-has one end disposedv adjacenttothe periph- -ery of said rotor and has: its other 'end.:.dis.- posed adjacent to the hub ofsaid rotor; a pluraliizy of spaces vanes carried by said rotorhand around said :ro'tor axis; and a plurality ,iof disclike members having teeth vmeshing with gsa-id vanes to form -fiuid pressure compartments/be,- tween .saidivanes and thegteeth of, said disc'- like members which decrease, in circumferential length from. the periphery tothe hub-of said rotor, said.l'lousing 'having' a fluid inlet opening membersare both at least equalito three such that 'eaohfinter-vanespace is partitioned said disc-like members into at least two closedcompartm'ents spaced from the ends oi said inter.- vane spac'egeach' said compartment being closed at one "end by a tooth offlone of said disc-like members and being closed at its other end :by a tooth of an adjacent one of saidYdiso-like members and each said}compartment .mo'ving. frompne end to the otherof said annular. space duringjrotor rotation with the volume of each compartmentvarying With its distance from the 4." A device as recited in claim 12in which the di'agonally opposi-te corners of .thejtwo circumferential-ly-spaced, faces of each tooth of a disclike member are chamfered from aplane disposed intermediate the'axially spaced ends of said tooth and parallel to the planeof rotation of said member..'

15. A device of the class described comprising'a rotor; a housing, said rotor and housing having complementary toric surfaces defining therebetweeni'an"annular-open ended space which is cocontinuouslycommunicatingzwith all--of the'intervane. spaces at one end of said annular space and having a fluid outlet opening continuously communicating with-alli of the inter-vane spaces atthe otherend of saidannular space.

-16. Thecombinationof aretor hav-inga toric surface; a plurality of. helico-spi-ral spaced vanes carried bysaid rotor and projecting from said surface; and a rotatable toothed disclike member disposed for rotation aboutan axis-tangent to the pitch circle of said teric surface, the teeth of said disc-like member being; arranged for meshing engagement with said vanes-and the diagonally opposite 1 corners of the two:circumferentially-spaced faces of each tooth being chamfered from ra plane disposed intermediate the axially spaced-ends of said tooth and parallel togthe" plane otrotatien of said members yv 1-, j p I f 'RaOL'AND CHILTON.

V 1 nuisances siren? The following; references: are record in the file 0f this patent: r V UNITED STATES PATENTS f. Number, Name {Date 1,088,836 Nielsen i-Mare 3. 1914' 1,304,497 Maxaln MayZO; 1919 1,367,801 Clark 1 Feb. 8, 1921 1,470,506 Steenstrup 1 Oct. 9, 19 23 1,989,552 Good Jan. 29, 1935 2,116,181 j 1 Bauer May 3, 1938 2,158,933 1 Good May 16, 1939* 2,336,225 Coleman Dec. 7 1943 2,339,966 Ungar 1 Jan. 25, 19.44 2,397,139 Heaton .Mar.. 26,1946 2,411,707 Biermann 1 Nov- 26, 1946 FOREIGN "PATENTS Number Country I Date 7 4 Great Britain of 1996

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